STATEMENT OFKATHERINE STEVENSON, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,
CULTURAL RESOURCES STEWARDSHIP AND PARTNERSHIPS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, BEFORE
THE SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS,
HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND RECREATION, CONCERNING S. 213 AND H.R. 37, TO AMEND
THE NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT TO UPDATE THE FEASIBILITY AND SUITABILITY
STUDIES OF 4 NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAILS AND PROVIDE FOR POSSIBLE ADDITIONS TO
SUCH TRAILS.

March 7, 2002

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the
opportunity to present the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 213 and
H.R. 37, bills that would amend the National Trails System Act to update the
feasibility and suitability studies of the Oregon, California, Pony Express and
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trails (NHT).

Both S. 213 and H.R. 37 would
update the feasibility and suitability studies and make recommendations through
the examination of additional routes and cutoffs not included in the initial
studies of all four trails. The Secretary of the Interior would determine if
anyof these routes and cutoffs are
eligible as additions to the four NHTs at the completion of these studies.Further, both bills would authorize the
Secretary to make authorization of any of these additional routes and cutoffs
if she found them eligible.

The Department supports both
bills.However, the Department did not
request additional funding for updating these studies in Fiscal Year 2003.We believe that any funding requested should
be directed towards completing previously authorized studies.Presently, there are 40 studies pending, of
which we hope to transmit 15 to Congress by the end of 2002.New studies can eventually result in new
designations, and we believe that it is important to focus our resources on
working down the deferred maintenance backlog at existing parks.Of the studies underway during the ten-year
period between 1989 and 1998, NPS has transmitted 79 studies to Congress.These 79 studies resulted in 15 new NPS
units, 14 heritage areas, and 10 other types of designations or programs.To plan for the future of our National
Parks, the Administration will identify in each study the costs to establish,
operate, and maintain the site should it result in a future designation.

The
feasibility study for the Oregon NHT was completed in 1977, the study for the
Mormon Pioneer NHT in 1978, and the one for the California and Pony Express
NHTs in 1987.Since those studies have
been completed, additional routes and cutoffs were identified, and may qualify
as parts of these trails.The National
Trails System Act makes no provision by which such additional routes and
cutoffs may be evaluated and added to national historic trails.

The Oregon NHT, authorized in 1978,
commemorates the “primary route” used by emigrants beginning in 1841 between
Independence, Missouri and Oregon City, Oregon.Traveled by thousands, the trail contained routes and cutoffs
used through the years.These secondary
routes had substantial emigrant traffic over several decades that demonstrate
historical significance and may be worthy of examination in an updated study.

The authorization of the Mormon NHT
in 1978 commemorates the journey of the pioneer party in 1846-1847 from Nauvoo,
Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah.As
with the Oregon NHT, emigrant traffic occurred on many additional routes during
the Mormon migration westward. Similarly with the other trails, these routes
are more often than not coincident or shared with one another.Preliminary data indicate traffic along
those routes during the historic period and there are additional routes to be
studied for these two trails.

Authorized in 1992, the California
NHT commemorates the gold rush to the Sierra Nevada.Dozens of routes and cutoffs were traveled by thousands of
pioneers, but no single route dominated.

The Pony Express NHT was included
in the same authorizing legislation as the California NHT.It commemorates the efforts of this nation
struggling to establish a system of communication across the Trans-Missouri
west.The trail primarily follows
routes beginning at St. Joseph, Missouri and ending in San Francisco,
California.The firm of Russell,
Majors, and Waddell, a western Missouri freighting company, set up and operated
the Pony Express for one and a half years before it fell on hard times and
ceased to exist.A short section of the
trail, from the Missouri River into Kansas, maybe worthy of study and is
included in both S. 213 and H.R. 37.

All four trails overlap one another
in many locations and several of the routes and cutoffs proposed for study in
S. 213 and H.R. 37 are already part of designated trails.These shared routes are prominent where the
trails depart from various points along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers,
particularly in the Kansas City, St. Joseph, Nebraska City, Council Bluffs and
Omaha areas.Several other shared
locations include routes in western Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho,
Nevada and California.

The National Trail System Act
requires that studies of lands proposed for trails be made in consultation with
federal, state, and local agencies, as well as nonprofit trail organizations.
Between 1994 and 1999, the National Park Service—in collaboration with the Bureau
of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, trail advocacy groups and
others—completed the Comprehensive
Management and Use Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (1999) for the
four trails.This was the initial plan
for the recently established California and Pony Express NHTs as well as
revised plans for the earlier established Oregon and Mormon Pioneer NHTs.S. 213 and H.R. 37
would allow for the consideration of these additional alternates and cutoffs by
authorizing an update of the original studies done for these four trails to
evaluate which are eligible for designation as NHT segments.S. 213
and H.R. 37 would authorize the Department of the Interior to work closely with
federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments, local landowners and
other interested parties.

Historic trails cross public and
private lands and the intent of the National Trails System Act is one of
respecting private property rights. In so doing, the development of strong
partnerships is critical to administering and managing the historic trails and
achieving preservation of trail resources and interpretation of the trail to
the public. The four national trails in this legislation demonstrate existing
public and private partnerships.

This concludes my testimony.I would be happy to respond to any questions
that you or members of the subcommittee may have.